I did not see him pedling at all, deal breaker if it's just a scooter. Looks like a prototype that will never get further, the cost for that many high quality hinges will put the manufacturing price way past a reasonable price point.

He doesn't have a chain connecting the pedals to the rear tire so its not really functional. Check out the video - he never pedals, and when he folds it you can see there is no chain.

You can't have a joint that changes the geometry between the rear hub and the pedals. On this bike there is a hinge and they end up being next to each other. On current folding bikes the hinge is forward of the pedals - the locking mechanism is usually the weak point, spend time improving that.

(Wowza, if this guy completes his proof of concept, it would rock the foldable bike world.)

I just wanna jump in here, while our brains are thinking about foldable bikes, and say I have a foldable bike, and in less than 3 weeks it has already changed my life for the better.

I don't even have the nicest foldable bike, and I'm not what you would call a bicycle enthusiast.

I just completely get off on the extra independence the foldable bike gives me.

Basically foldable bikes allow for a lot more spontaneity than regular bikes:

* They are allowed ON Amtrak (US train system), like regular luggage. (If you have a full-sizes bike, you need to check to see if there is a special bike car, or worse, a box you need to use that requires removing some bike parts to make it fit.)

* They are allowed on every public bus system that I've tried in Oregon and California. Usually buses make you put your bike on the rack in front (oh yeah, check to make sure your route HAS a rack, and there aren't special rules.)

* They can easily fit into your friends' small cars without disassembly.

* You can bike yourself to exhaustion without worry if you have the energy to make the round trip, just put bike on any of the methods of transportation listed above.

* Depending on the bike you get, you can carry it into places that you'd never get away with.

* (This one is good or bad, depending on how you look at it. I'm more introverted, so i wish it weren't so true.) Foldable are bikes are quite the conversation starter, young and old alike.

I want to see the hinge that allows the front wheel fold up close. looks like a potential weak point.

I wonder how much he spent making the prototype.

No drive? The reassembly part of the video a reverse of the disassembly? I have an awesome gadget which refuels my car as I drive, or I will, as soon as I locate a black box with some wires and pipes sticking out of it, and splice together some video that shows the rev counter and speedo going the right way, while super-imposing the fuel gauge returning to full. Maybe I'm just a cynic and the video doesn't reveal all the secrets.

Folding bikes are nothing new, but if he's right about this one being able to 'take punishment', I'd buy one. My current folding bike is handy for taking on the T, but besides that, I call it the clown bike because of how it looks and how it handles.

This bike design is so bad, someone has written and recorded a mock commercial for it:

http://www.supload.com/listen?s=FKrRVn

Here is a Taiwanese site called international bicycle design competition http://www.ibdcaward.org (Sorry, this site doesn't show enough information for bike design), Anyway,we already have similar bikes in production for people who take to the train and subway. More information at http://www.brandingtaiwan.org/eng/index.aspx

Can't view all the details from this browser - don't the handle bars project outside the wheel cicumference, or can they be folded further?

Personally I think the emphasis on folding bikes which seems to there appears to be at the moment is wrong. We should be looking at properly connecting the bike with mass transit - trains and buses that are easily accessible for bikes/cyclists.

To sum this up: This 'bike' has neither a chain nor driveshaft nor belt, thus you can't pedal it. It also lacks the necessary structural integrity and -- as seen on reddit -- at least the rear brake most likely doesn't work. But hey: It has a neat design and you can pull it around when it's folded. What is this? A parody?

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The IF Mode bike (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD2lFgMfh2k) folds much faster and the pedals actually connect to the wheel. I've been told that they started selling them already, but they seem to be a bit pricey.

I used to have a folding bike made by Kama. Can't say it was very convenient. To get it inside an elevator, it took more time to fold it, than for the other kids to fit their regular bikes in. And the small wheels made the speed a lot slower.

Really slick... I especially like that you can wheel the whole package around while it's folded up. It looks like the chain is somehow internal to the frame?

Looks like it has too many points of failure i.e. the design ultimately sacrifcies rigidity and strength for convenience. Bicycles have to be extremely strong, or this happens:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe6KqdJndcU

I'll stick to my dawes 531 tourer and the train nazis thank you :)